Warpaint - The Fool

If you've chanced across an article relating to this band then you'll already consider yourself ahead of the pack. For those who aren't aware, Warpaint is an all girl band, hotly favoured by Hollywood stars and musicians.

None of this should matter though; only the music matters here and these girls really deliver on the early promise held over from their EP 'Exquisite Corpse'. They deal mostly in trippy, experimental soundscapes; what sets them apart, however, is their melodic kick. They dare to mix up tempos and effects giving the album an ethereal and otherworldly quality. The Fool shares a lot of similarities with the work of Josh Klinghoffer & John Frusciante on albums such as The Empyrean or their Ataxia albums. This comes as no surprise due to the fact Frusciante produced the aforementioned EP and Josh played drums on a track. Lead singer and guitarist Emily Kokal channels these influences in fluttering moments but proves she can be just as versatile in her own right. There are no out-and-out riffs but smatterings of choppy chord progressions or haunting picking patterns are enough to prick the ears up. Lyrics aren't totally coherent but neither are real thoughts, which is how words come across here: "The world is bursting open" and "How can I keep my composure?" being two such examples.

'Baby' and 'Undertow' provide the most melodic joy while 'Set Your Arms Down' and 'Warpaint' prove these ladies have instrumental chops to match. Most of these songs sound like extended jams but it's not as bad as it sounds, it just takes the right mood to appreciate the album as a whole. What it lacks is only the slicker bursts of speed from their EP but they retain the light, tight interlocking jams which make their songs such a pleasure to listen to. Warpaint as a band could explode with all the hype right now but what would serve the music better is for them to remain outside of stardom. If you like your experimental music understated and melodic then The Fool will be your album of the year.